98-Year-Old Marine Veteran Gets High School Diploma In Hospice Care

In a heartfelt tribute that had been planned for decades, a nearly 100-year-old Marine veteran in hospice care received his much-awaited high school diploma. This heartwarming encounter was shared by the Sharon School District in Pennsylvania. Superintendent Justi Glaros got a call from Legion Post 247. The phone rang, and the caller described himself as James Cappuccilli, 247's second vice commander, a marine who had renounced further schooling to fight in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam and was now seeking an honorary certificate.

Age Is Just A Number, Isn't It?

This local hero served in three major battles with unselfish dedication, yet he never achieved his dream of earning his high school diploma. Appreciating the significance of upholding such a profound commitment, Superintendent Glaros and the educational system took swift action to ensure that this Marine's lifelong dream was fulfilled.

A Veteran's Last Wish Fulfilled

James Cappuccilli, the second vice commander of the Legion post, contacted the directors of the Sharon Alumni Hall of Fame. Through them, Glaros was notified that a Marine wanted to know whether he could obtain his high school diploma. Glaros discovered that to grant an honorary high school diploma to a veteran, they had to fulfil two requirements: they had to have been honourably discharged and they had to have fought in one of the three wars—Remp fought in all three. A couple weeks went by when Remp fell and the hospital found he had stage 4 prostate cancer that was aggressively attacking his liver. He was put on hospice care and was not expected to have long to live.

Glaros had been thinking about the veteran who sought a high school certificate and wondered if his request would be granted. At that moment, Cappucilli called Glaros to praise her for her research and efforts to accomplish the dream, but he informed her that the neighbouring school would not be able to add Remp's request to their schedule until next month, which would be too late. It was Tuesday, May 14.

Glaros then sprung into action. She called a meeting of the school board, explained the situation, and got approval to print a high school certificate from their institution. On Friday, drove 4½ hours to Maryland and hand-delivered the diploma to Remp during a graduation ceremony in his living room."The last thing he remembers is that she came down and gave him the diploma," American Legion Post 247 Commander Julian Singh said. "That was the last time he was conscious."

Remp, also known as "Gunny" since he was a gunnery sergeant in the Marines, went downhill following the ceremony until his death on Sunday, according to Singh."We have lost an amazing man," Cappuccilli remarked. "That man never gave up on his sense of humour."As a veteran of the Vietnam War, Gunny was given a citation. During the Sharon School Board meeting on Monday, Glaros asked the attendees to observe a moment of silence in memory of the graduate. She said that she intended to honour Gunny in some way during this year's graduation. Glaros remarked, "I feel privileged to be in a position where I can help this man." "What I wanted was the chance to give him the diploma."